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Singapore's entrepreneurs are a resilient bunch. That is the conclusion from a study by LifeStyle of six businesses over the past four months.
In February, when the recession first hit home, LifeStyle selected six businesses to track over the year, to see how they would fare. They were an ice-cream shop, a hobby shop, a water systems engineering firm, a fish farm, a second-hand car dealer and a cafe restaurant.
Four months have passed, and five of the six are thriving. In fact, one of them - ice-cream joint Udders - has opened another outlet, with a third to open this Friday.
Restaurant Verve is planning a second outlet. Others, such as water solutions company AridTec and ornamental fish breeder DreamFish, are doing well beyond local shores.
The only business where the downturn is really biting is scale modelling hobby shop M Workshop, where sales have dropped about 40 per cent. Owner Bernard Cher attributes this to the fact that his products are luxury items purchased with disposable income.
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Hitting above target
First-time entrepreneurs at Verve dealt with recession by revising sales targets and controlling costs. |
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Geared for upswing
Being careful at the onset of the downturn has put Car Times in a much better position to face the market recovery. |
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Growing dream
With business going up, the only constraint DreamFish sees is the quantity of arowanas it produces. |
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Seeking overseas markets
Sales are up 30 per cent since January, and home-grown AridTec is launching new products and expanding overseas. |
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Sales heat up
Roaring trade since the start, thanks to supportive customers and dedicated staff, says Udders. |
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Scaling down
Business has dropped 40 per cent since the recession, but M Workshop is hanging tough and has plans for new lines next year. |
This article was first published in The Straits Times.
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